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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 000440 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KWMN KDEM IN
SUBJECT: WOMEN IN INDIA: GOVERNMENT'S PROGRESS GOOD, BUT 
JUST A START 
 
REF: CHENNAI 25 
 
NEW DELHI 00000440  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. During its five-year tenure, the Congress 
Party-led ruling coalition, the United Progressive Alliance 
(UPA), has made uneven progress on women's issues. 
Activists credit the current government with creating an 
independent Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) 
and initiating "fairly decent and thoughtful" flagship 
initiatives.  While the political will is present, the GOI 
has failed to implement programs at the state level due to 
a lack of capacity and resources.  Conflict between the MWCD and the 
National Commission for Women (NCW), an independent tribunal 
envisioned as the apex for efforts to protect and promote women's 
interests, has also impeded progress.  Critics slam the Commission as 
"totally ineffective;" the Commission's tepid response to the highly 
publicized harassment of female patrons at a Mangalore pub in January 
only incensed NCW opponents.  With parliamentary elections fast 
approaching, the Congress Party will justifiably tout advancements 
the UPA government achieved for women; however, to continue the 
positive trajectory, any newly elected government must devote more 
resources to state governments for program implementation. Anything 
less will not make the necessary dent in the slow changing but still 
deeply ingrained societal mindset limiting the role of women in 
India. End Summary. 
 
Relentless Renuka 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In January 2006, Renuka Chowdhury successfully 
upgraded Women and Child Development from a department 
within the Ministry of Human Resources to its own Ministry.  The 
mandate of the Ministry for Women and Child Development (MWCD) 
includes reviewing laws to remove gender bias, proposing legislation 
to promote equal rights, and 
implementing programs for the social and economic 
empowerment of women and children.  Being a new ministry 
poses certain challenges for MWCD.  Aparna Bhat, an 
activist and Legal Services attorney, commented that the 
mandate of MWCD often conflicts with other ministries, 
which have more clout in the GOI, such as the Home and 
Labour Ministries.  MWCD Joint Secretary for Women's Issues 
Kiran Chadha told Poloff women's issues often failed to 
catch the GOI's attention and lamented the lack of 
awareness and education even within the government. 
 
¶3. (U) Fortunately, the Ministry has a very vocal woman at 
its helm.  Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director of the Centre for 
Social Research, credits Renuka Chowdhury with increasing 
MWCD's budget "from one peanut to two peanuts."  Other 
contacts compliment the team Chowdhury has assembled in the 
Ministry, adding that though Chowdhury lacks depth of 
knowledge on all issues, she has taken strong stances and 
trusts her team.  Aparna Bhat affirmed that Chowdhury 
"makes the right noises, at the right time."  Contacts 
credit Chowdhury as the force that has propelled MWCD to 
become a player, as it pushed Parliament to pass the 
Violence Against Women Act and other legislation addressing 
the rights of women in cases of rape and divorce.  However, 
activists have criticized the MWCD for poor mobilization of 
resources at the state level.  J/S Chadha admitted to 
Poloff that the domestic violence legislation passed two 
years ago has been slow in implementation, specifically the 
appropriation of funds by the GOI for the states. 
 
NCW: Toothless Tiger? 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In 1992 the GOI established the National 
Commission for Women (NCW) to monitor matters relating to 
legal safeguards for women, review existing legislation, 
investigate complaints, and provide support to women in 
need.  Girija Vyas, a Congress party loyalist and former 
MP, joined the commission as Chair in 2005.  NCW has five 
politically-appointed members that control three divisions: 
complaint and investigation; research; and legislation. 
The Commission categorizes complaints into 22 areas, 
including dowry death, harassment, police abuse, and rape. 
Vyas told Poloffs that the NCW fielded 16,000 complaints in 
2008, noting that the highest number of complaints come 
from Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.  Vyas reported the 
 
NEW DELHI 00000440  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
NCW also reviewed 54 laws. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Dr. Kumari credits women's groups for devoting 
substantial effort to NCW's formation, but blames Vyas for 
"drowning the Commission," when it could be a "huge power" 
for Indian women.  Multiple contacts echoed the criticism 
that Vyas is too politically motivated and preoccupied with 
Congress party infighting.  Vyas admitted that she is 
campaigning for a parliament seat in Rajasthan, which 
likely consumes much of her time.  In her responses to 
Poloffs' questions on the UPA government's progress on 
women's issues, Vyas unequivocally praised the Congress 
party. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Some activists have dismissed the NCW as a 
counseling body, dubbing the Commission the "National 
Counsel for Wives."  Vyas defended NCW counseling 
efforts and identified a recent success story in which the 
NCW counselor convinced a woman to return to her abusive 
husband, noting that often communication problems cause the 
split.  She also told Poloffs that the NCW's 2009 motto is 
"save the family, save the home."  Dr. Kumari argues that 
such counseling is an insult to NCW's founders who 
envisioned the Commission as a force to lead major policy 
interventions.  She advised that the NCW should fight for 
increased funding and return to its intended role as the 
gender lens for the GOI. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In the wake of the January Mangalore pub attacks 
during which 40 male Hindu extremists attacked eight women 
in a pub for drinking in public (Reftel), Indian media 
lampooned the NCW as a "toothless tiger."  NCW's Nirmala 
Venkatesh led the team sent to investigate the attack and 
concluded that because the pub had insufficient security, 
"women have to safeguard themselves."  After the public 
backlash against Venkatesh's findings, the NCW annulled her 
report and dismissed her on February 27 for dereliction of 
duty.  NCW has not sent another team to Mangalore.  The 
incident provided further ammunition for activists critical 
of the Commission's effectiveness in advocating on behalf 
of the modern Indian woman.  Trusted human rights contact 
Ravi Nair bluntly told Poloff "the NWC is a completely 
ineffective, shoddy outfit."  Aparna Bhat defended the NCW, 
noting that the Commission employs only 40 staff to 
investigate cases throughout India and is overwhelmed by 
the workload. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Contacts divulged that poor coordination between 
the Commission and the Ministry does not help the 
situation.  J/S Chadha told Poloff that the NCW is "a 
pain."  She likened the Ministry's relationship to the 
Commission as "setting an immature child free; they run off 
and never look back."  Chadha also regrets the choice of a 
politician to head the NCW, disparaging Vyas as ineffective 
and unavailable due to her campaign schedule.  Chadha 
admitted that the NCW lacks adequate resources, but 
maintained the Commission fails to utilize its current 
resources.  Chadha remarked that the NCW only responds to 
the Ministry when threatened.  In contrast, Vyas told 
Poloffs that the NCW and MWCD have a "very good" 
relationship, and the Commission enjoys its autonomy. 
 
UPA Report Card: "Could have been better" 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) In its 2008 "Report to the People," the UPA 
government contends it has given a greater focus to issues 
relating to women through the creation of an independent 
Ministry, legislation promoting gender equality, and 
increased budget allocation for gender-specific programs. 
NCW Chair Vyas reported the UPA government devoted much 
more financial resources to women's issues than the 
previous government.  Contacts commend Prime Minister 
Manmohan Singh's government for the Protection of Women 
from Domestic Violence Act (2005); amendments prohibiting 
the arrest of women after sunset; mandates for medical 
examinations of persons accused of rape; and judicial 
inquiries into cases of rape while women are in police 
custody.  However, the UPA government failed to gain 
passage of amendments to the Immoral Traffic Prevention 
 
NEW DELHI 00000440  003 OF 003 
 
 
Act that has been pending for three years and sexual 
harassment legislation. J/S Chadha and NCW Chair Vyas both 
blame the Ministry of Law for the delay in passage. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Ravi Nair summarized the perspective of many 
contacts, arguing that the UPA's varied initiatives prove 
it has the political will.  However, the coalition does not 
have the line capacity and machinery in the states to 
implement the programs.  Other contacts criticized the 
overall lack of coordination.  Dr. Kumari contended that 
the UPA's greatest disappointment has been its failure to 
pass the Reservation Bill, which would reserve one-third of 
seats in Parliament for women.  The Congress Party pledged 
to press for the bill in its 2004 Manifesto; however, 
Kumari claimed that the party became too preoccupied with 
achieving consensus with regional parties who insisted on 
reservations for underprivileged groups within the 
reservations for women.  According to women's rights 
advocates, other failures include not providing a proper 
budget to implement the domestic violence act.  Overall, 
contacts rate the UPA government's progress as on par with 
previous governments.  Aparna Bhat opined women's issues 
are always the last priority for every government, not just 
India's. 
 
Comment - Mobilization and Mindset 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The GOI faces three challenges to true women's 
empowerment: funding, resource mobilization, and changing 
the societal mindset.  One possible strategy is a 
large-scale campaign targeting sex selective abortion, 
dowry deaths, and gender discrimination comparable to the 
size and scope of the awareness campaign for HIV-AIDS that 
has been very successful in India, especially in the 
southern states.  In order for the campaign to impact 
India's one billion plus population, the GOI must allocate 
adequate resources for the states, including personnel to 
mobilize and implement programs.  India has made 
significant progress over the past decade, but changing the 
deeply ingrained social mindset on the role of Indian women 
will require a full court press.  End Comment. 
 
WHITE